1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a vehicle child safety seat in which a shoulder pad is attached to a seat belt.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-276559 (JP2003-276559 A) describes a shoulder pad for a seat belt provided in a vehicle child safety seat. The shoulder pad includes a body portion positioned below a shoulder strap (shoulder harness) so as to abut against a shoulder of a child occupant, a tether strap for attachment to a seat back, and a biforked yoke for connecting the body portion to the tether strap. The shoulder harness is passed through the biforked yoke, and the tether strap extends above the shoulder harness toward a rear side of the seat. Further, the shoulder pad is partially enclosed by a fabric cover.
The, shoulder pad is configured such that, in the event of an accident, a friction-increasing surface provided in the body portion is engaged with the shoulder harness. This increases a frictional resistance to the shoulder harness, thereby limiting a forward movement, of the child. Further, the shoulder pad is configured such that the fabric cover partially covering the shoulder pad prevents the shoulder pad from being displaced in a lateral direction (displaced in a width direction) with respect to the shoulder harness.
From the description of JP2003-276559 A, it is not apparent whether the shoulder pad is integrated with the fabric cover or not. However, at least a weak fabric cover may not be able to sufficiently restrain displacement of the shoulder pad in the width direction with respect to the shoulder harness. When the shoulder pad is displaced in the width direction with respect to the shoulder harness, a function of the shoulder pad may not be demonstrated sufficiently. On that account, there is room to improve this point.